Reverse grind - 1977 5-speed

[RT Hunter]

I searched and read that to prevent reverse shift grinding is to shift into a gear, then into reverse.

This worked for me to help prevent the reverse grinding, but is this normal? Does a brand new 280z do this also?

Just detail my symptoms:

1. Clutch pedal all the way down

2. Car is at complete stop with foot on the brake (Car never moved, I just started it up in drive way)

3. Shift into Reverse and it grinds

Why? If I shift it fast and with force, it'll go into gear with couple of teeth grinding with a slight clunk (probably because something is rotating and stopped all of a sudden).

So what I did was slowly push the gear very gently until it starts barely grinding just to see how fast it's rotating, and it's rotating pretty slow, but continually.

[jmortensen]

I would guess that this is probably the clutch master and/or slave going out. Pull the boots on the master and slave, if brake fluid comes out, they need replacing. Common practice is to replace both at once.

[RT Hunter]

I'll check that.

But if it had an internal leak, (fluid passing through internal seals), then I wouldn't know if it's actually working or not, right?

[RT Hunter]

oh, if the clutch is not fully disengage, wouldn't it grind in forward gears also?

[Arne]

Forward gears are synchromesh, so it has to get a lot worse for you to experience it there. Always see it in reverse first.

[RT Hunter]

Forward gears are synchromesh, so it has to get a lot worse for you to experience it there. Always see it in reverse first.

My forward gears actually go in smooth without a problem. But doing what everyone else advised (google), which is to put it in forward gear first, then into reverse, and that works good for me. No grinding.

I will check my linkage, maybe my clutch is dragging.

[Arne]

The reason that works is that engaging any gear stops the gears from spinning. That may correct the symptom, but doesn't fix the root problem of why the gears are spinning with the clutch depressed. Either the clutch is dragging, or the gear oil is too thick.

[doradox]

The reason that works is that engaging any gear stops the gears from spinning. That may correct the symptom, but doesn't fix the root problem of why the gears are spinning with the clutch depressed. Either the clutch is dragging, or the gear oil is too thick.

The gear oil is too thick? Could you explain how thick gear oil keeps the gears in a transmission spinning with the clutch depressed?

Steve

[RT Hunter]

Alright, it only needed the linkage to be adjust.

But the reason why I didn't think about it in the first place is that it never did this before. When I went to adjust the linkage, the lock nut was still tight. So it "could" be the master/slave cylinder starting to seep? Oh well. I'll see how long this will last....